Crosscurrents

Series produced by KALW

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Context, culture and connection from around the Bay Area.

KALW's Crosscurrents is the Bay Area's public radio news magazine. Winner of three awards from the Society of Professional Journalists and voted "Best Local News Program" by SF Weekly, Crosscurrents brings you context, culture and connection from around the Bay Area.


356 Pieces

Order by: Newest First | Oldest First
Voices on the bus: the people who depend on AC Transit
From: KALW
Series: Crosscurrents
Caption: Long-time AC Transit rider Walter Davis gets off the bus at 14th and Market in Oakland., Credit: Isabel Angell
East Bay bus agency AC Transit doesn’t have the ridership or wide-reaching reputation of BART or San Francisco’s Muni. But about 100,000 people tak...

  • Added: Mar 12, 2014
  • Length: 08:31
From prisoner to professor: a former inmate teaches others to reduce recidivism
From: KALW
Series: Crosscurrents
Caption: Michael Santos speaks on his experiences
At 49 years of age, Michael Santos is getting his first taste of college. He's walking through the main quad at San Francisco State, beaming like a...

  • Added: Jan 13, 2014
  • Length: 09:35
San Francisco’s Visitacion Valley to get first grocery store in decades
From: KALW
Series: Crosscurrents
Caption: The discount supermarket Grocery Outlet is opening a new store in San Francisco's Visitacion Valley neighborhood
Almost 30 million Americans live a mile or more away from a supermarket. That may not sound very far, but for the five million plus who don’t have ...

Bought by WAMC Northeast Public Radio


  • Added: Jan 13, 2014
  • Length: 04:33
  • Purchases: 1
Will Bay Area Bike Share expand on its downtown success?
From: KALW
Series: Crosscurrents
Caption: The Bay Area Bike Share station in front of San Francisco City Hall, Credit: Isabel Angell
The success of Bay Area Bike Share depends on one place: downtown San Francisco. Back in August, the program. made a well-calculated gamble and stu...

  • Added: Jan 13, 2014
  • Length: 07:24
The Aftermath of an Ellis Act Eviction
From: KALW
Series: Crosscurrents
Caption: San Francisco's North Beach where Marla Knight has lived for 48 years, Credit: Daniel Schwen
Marla Knight is packing up her home of 48 years. She’s been evicted from her North Beach apartment because the owners are converting it to tenancie...

Bought by PRX Remix and WAMC Northeast Public Radio


  • Added: Dec 29, 2013
  • Length: 04:41
  • Purchases: 2
Dozens in Albany homeless encampment prepare for clearout
From: KALW
Series: Crosscurrents
Caption: Dan Paul with his sculpture. Paul and the other Bulb residents face eviction soon, Credit: Mary Rees
On the west side of the city of Albany, there’s a peninsula jutting into San Francisco Bay. It’s beautiful there, right on the water, with hiking t...

  • Added: Dec 29, 2013
  • Length: 08:25
Health insurance cancellations - a personal wake-up call
From: KALW
Series: Crosscurrents
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Millions of Americans have received letters from insurance companies in the last few months, cancelling their health plans. It’s part of the transi...

  • Added: Dec 29, 2013
  • Length: 10:58
Veterans find peace and community through mindfulness
From: KALW
Series: Crosscurrents
Piece image
Nathan and Lesley Keith met on a military base in Kuwait, in 2006. They’re both Navy veterans, and together they served for a cumulative 27 years. ...

Bought by WAMC Northeast Public Radio


  • Added: Dec 29, 2013
  • Length: 10:02
  • Purchases: 1
Behind the scenes on a pot farm in Mendocino
From: KALW
Series: Crosscurrents
Piece image
Federally, marijuana production is still a major crime, one that can land you in prison for decades. Yet, in northern California, there’s a whole e...

Bought by New Hampshire Public Radio


  • Added: Dec 29, 2013
  • Length: 11:26
  • Purchases: 1
Beyond Idol: Alameda County’s foster youth show their talent
From: KALW
Series: Crosscurrents
Caption: 2013 Beyond Idol grand finale championship at Yoshi's in Oakland, Credit: Beyond Emancipation
It’s audition day for Beyond Idol. Contestants pace around a large waiting area at Laney College, practicing softly to themselves as they wait for ...

  • Added: Dec 29, 2013
  • Length: 08:36
Swimming from Alcatraz to heal body and soul
From: KALW
Series: Crosscurrents
Caption: The seven Pathstar swimmers from 2013, Credit: Angela Johnston
The sun is just beginning to rise over the glassy water at San Francisco’s aquatic park. Karen Wapato is beaming as she emerges from the Bay and pe...

Bought by KBCS 91.3 FM Community Radio


  • Added: Dec 29, 2013
  • Length: 10:33
  • Purchases: 1
Food stamp cuts felt around the Bay Area
From: KALW
Series: Crosscurrents
Piece image
For Jamaisse Payne, the grocery store is a math problem. She’s got a baby boy due in a few weeks, so she says she’s shopping and eating for two. Sh...

  • Added: Dec 29, 2013
  • Length: 06:56
A visit with the string whisperer
From: KALW
Series: Crosscurrents
Piece image
Roland Feller is responsible for the well-being of many of the city's stringed instruments. When you imagine him working on a violin, picture him s...

Bought by PRX Remix


  • Added: Dec 29, 2013
  • Length: 07:33
  • Purchases: 1
DREAMer hackers code for immigration reform with FWD.us
From: KALW
Series: Crosscurrents
Caption: Sarahi Salamanca and her team are building a website that will aggregate videos to promote immigration reform, Credit: Audrey Dilling
We’re at the FWD.us “DREAMer Hackathon.” Twenty DREAMers and mentors from local tech companies, all in one big room, scrambling to write code that ...

  • Added: Dec 29, 2013
  • Length: 05:09
Serving up fewer suspensions and more interaction
From: KALW
Series: Crosscurrents
Piece image
Not long ago there was a food fight at Ralph Bunche High School. And Angel Hernandez is in trouble. He’s 18, a senior, and he’s not admitting anyth...

  • Added: Dec 29, 2013
  • Length: 07:23
Searching for the Peregrine Falcon
From: KALW
Series: Crosscurrents
Piece image
Near dusk, you can often find Shirley Doell at Oakland Civic Center, staring at the tops of skyscrapers through her big telescope. But she isn’t sp...

  • Added: Dec 29, 2013
  • Length: 15:48
Building strong school communities through Restorative Practices
From: KALW
Series: Crosscurrents
Caption: Jessy Jones and her third graders looks on as Principal Tracy Peoples shares in the community circle, Credit: Jen Chien
Last month, a group of students from the 100% College Prep Club in the Bayview district marched into the San Francisco Unified School District boar...

  • Added: Dec 29, 2013
  • Length: 08:54
China Camp State Park: Where past and present live side by side
From: KALW
Series: Crosscurrents
Caption: John Muir and Frank Quan, Credit: Julie Caine
Lots of us know about China Camp State Park--there’s good hiking and mountain biking, and the beaches along San Pablo Bay are peaceful. But before ...

  • Added: Dec 29, 2013
  • Length: 10:16
A class for dancers with big dreams, and leg warmers
From: KALW
Series: Crosscurrents
Piece image
On Sunday mornings in the Castro neighborhood, there’s a place where rhythm reigns. Dancers pull out their leg warmers, spandex and fluorescent hea...

Bought by New Hampshire Public Radio


  • Added: Dec 29, 2013
  • Length: 06:09
  • Purchases: 1
Wading through a “complicated” system to support children with disabilities
From: KALW
Series: Crosscurrents
Caption: Suzy Clement and her son Lucien, Credit: Suzy Clement
The birth of a child is life-changing. For the wallet, the lifestyle and the fact that there’s another human to care for. But for many California ...

  • Added: Dec 29, 2013
  • Length: 09:23